KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit ended lower against the US dollar on Friday amid cautious sentiment over lingering geopolitical uncertainty in West Asia and rising fuel prices.

At 6pm, the local currency depreciated to 4.0280/0320 against the greenback from Thursday's close of 4.0095/0140.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the stalemate in the US-Iran negotiations could keep fuel prices elevated and result in higher inflationary pressures.

He said authorities across Asia have also reaffirmed their commitment to stabilising their respective currencies amid heightened market volatility.

He added that the US dollar-Japanese yen pair had surpassed the 160-yen psychological level, prompting the Japanese government to signal its readiness to intervene in the foreign exchange market, while India is mulling scrapping the capital gains tax on bonds to lure foreign investors.

"Hence, the currency market is likely to remain guarded," he told Bernama.

The ringgit also traded lower against a basket of major currencies.

It eased against the British pound to 5.4233/4287 from 5.3872/3932, slid against the euro to 4.6882/6928 from 4.6610/6663, and slipped versus the Japanese yen to 2.5183/5209 from 2.5081/5111 at yesterday's close.

The local currency traded lower against regional peers.

It retreated versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1390/1424 from 3.1241/1279, and eased against the Thai baht to 12.3433/3605 from 12.2708/2903.

It also weakened against the Philippine peso to 6.55/6.56 from 6.50/6.52, and dropped against the Indonesian rupiah at 223.3/223.6 versus 222.1/222.4 at Thursday's close.